Upsetting dies

ABSTRACT

A pair of die holders normally engage the opposite sides of a plate between them and are provided with recesses facing the plate and extending lengthwise of it, with the wall of each recess opposite the plate sloping outwardly away from the plate from front to back. Slidably mounted in each recess for movement lengthwise of it is a die that has a sliding face engaging the sloping wall of the recess and has an opposite face provided with a channel open at its rear end for receiving the heated end portion of wide thin stock. One of the channels has less depth than the other and extends farther forward. Means are provided for pushing the die with the shallower channel rearwardly to upset the stock in it, after which the upset stock is transferred to the channel in the other die which is then pushed rearwardly to further upset the stock to make it still thicker.

[ UPSETTING DIES [75] Inventor: Roland E. Cale, Pittsburgh, Pa.

[73] Assignee: Schaefer Equipment Company, Pittsburgh, Pa.

[22] Filed: June 14, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 262,646

[52] US. Cl. 72/318, 72/360, 72/411 [51] Int. Cl. ..B21d 19/10 [58]Field of Search ..72/3l8, 322, 323,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Webster ..72/ 360 Cale..72/3 1 8 [4 1 May 29, 1973 Primary Examiner-Richard J. HerbstAttorney-Brown, Murray, Flick & Peckham 5 7] ABSTRACT A pair of dieholders normally engage the opposite sides of a plate between them andare provided with recesses facing the plate and extending lengthwise ofit, with the wall of each recess opposite the plate sloping outwardlyaway from the plate from front to back. Slidably mounted in each recessfor movement lengthwise of it is a die that has a sliding face engagingthe sloping wall of the recess and has an opposite face provided with achannel open at its rear end for receiving the heated end portion ofwide thin stock. One of the channels has less depth than the other andextends farther forward. Means are provided for pushing the die with theshallower channel rearwardly to upset the stock in it, after which theupset stock is transferred to the channel in the other die which is thenpushed rearwardly to further upset the stock to make it still thicker.

6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures UPSETTING DIES In my U.S. Pat. No. 2,968,976heading dies are shown for upsetting the end portions of wide thin stockin order to thicken the stock. Although the upset stock could be usedfor other purposes, it was intended primarily for making into trucklever connections for railroad car brake rigging. More recently, suchconnections or rods have required more metal in their end portions thanthe dies shown in my patent are able to provide.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide apparatus forupsetting an end portion of wide thin stock to a greater degree thanpossible with the dies of my earlier patent. Another object is toprovide such apparatus in which the stock can be quickly and easilytransferred from one position to another to provide the desiredthickness without intermediate heating. A further object is to providesuch apparatus in which a partially upset workpiece can be further upsetat the same time that a second workpiece is receiving its preliminaryupset.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illus trated in theaccompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a side view;

FIG. 2 is a front end view;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross section taken on the line III- --III of FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is a view of the channeled side of the left-hand die as seen inFIG. 2; 7

FIG. 5 is a view of the channeled side of the right hand die seen inFIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a combined plan view and longitudinal section showing stockabout to be upset in the first die;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary horizontal longitudinal section showing thestock upset; and

FIG. 8 is a similar view, partly in plan, of the upset stock transferredto the second die and further upset therein while other stock is upsetin the first die.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 6 of the drawings, a pair of die holders1 and 2 are shown resting on a suitable support 3, with a heavy verticalcenter plate 4 separating them and extending from front to back of thedie holders. Upright backing plates 5 and 6 are secured to the rear endsof the die holders and engage a back stop 7 provided with a centralopening 8. They also normally engage the center plate. The left-hand dieholder 1 shown in FIG. 2 is secured to the support, but the right-handholder can be moved laterally away from the plate a predetermineddistance by any suitable means, such as by a toggle having one link 9pivotally connected to the die holder.

The die holders are provided with recesses 11 facing the center plateand extending from end to end of the holders. Each recess has parallelupper and lower walls and a sidewall 12 that slopes outwardly away fromthe center'plate from front to back. A die that is shorter than the dieholders is slidably mounted in each recess for movement lengthwise ofit. The die 13 in die holder 1 has a sliding face engaging the slopingwall 12 therein. The opposite face of the die is provided with aflat-sided channel 14 that has parallel upper and lower walls, avertical front wall and an open rear end, as shown in FIG. 4. The die 16in the other die holder likewise has a sliding face engaging the slopingwall, but the flat-sided channel 17 (FIG. 5) in its opposite face isdeeper than channel 14. Furthermore, channel 17 is shorter than theother channel and it may be flared out as shown in FIG. 5. The depth ofchannel 14 preferably is the same as the thickness of the wide, thinmetal workpieces or stock 18 that is to be upset. The backing plates 5and 6 are provided with slots 19 in line with the channels in the dies.These slots are only large enough to permit the stock to extend betweenthe center plate 4 and the backing plates while the latter are incontact with the center plate, as shown in FIG. 8. The depth of channel17 is considerably greater than the other channel.

Each backing plate is provided with a recess 21 that contains the rearend of a pneumatic piston 22 which extends forward into a bore 23 in thedie ahead of it. The rear ends of the pistons can rock in the recessesas the dies move rearwardly in the die holders. A tube 24 extends downthrough a passage in each backing plate and into the rear end of eachplunger for continuously delivering air under pressure to the pistons toconstantly urge the dies forward in the die holders against retainingplates 26 attached to the front ends of the holders and overlapping thefront ends of the recesses therein. Between these plates and the centerplate the dies project forward a short distance. To help hold the diesin place when the die holders are separated, the front end of each dieis provided with a pair of vertically spaced longitudinal bores 27 thatreceives rods 28 extending loosely into them from the retaining plate infront of the die.

At its rear lower corner and its front upper corner the center plate 4is provided with openings, through which studs 31 extend. These studsare screwed into the die holder 1 and extend from the center plate intosockets 32 in the other die holder. Bushings 33 on the studs extend fromtheir heads to die holder 1. While the dies are closed as shown in FIG.6, the heads of the studs are spaced from the center plate a distanceless than die holder 2 can be retracted or moved away from the otherholder. When holder 2 is retracted, the center plate is moved away fromthe other holder until it strikes the heads of the studs. This movementis accomplished by air pressure that constantly presses a pair ofplungers 34 against the center plate. These plungers are slidablymounted in horizontal bores 35 in the same corners of die holder 1 asthe studs, the outer ends of these bores being connected throughvertical passages 36 with tubes 37, through which the air is delivered.Consequently, when die holder 2 is retracted, the center plate moveswith it until stopped by the heads of studs 31 while the die holdercontinues to move away somewhat further. This provides ample space oneach side of the center plate for loading and unloading the dies.

In operation, the dies are opened as just described and the heated frontend of a workpiece 18 is placed in channel 14 of the first die 13 asshown in FIG. 6, with the rest of the workpiece extending back throughthe slot 19 in backing plate 5 and on back to a back stop 40 on whichthe stock rests on edge. The dies are then closed and both dies arepushed rearwardly simultaneously by a ram 41 that has a bifurcated frontend so that it can engage the front ends of both dies and straddle thecenter plate. As the dies are pushed backward the portion of the stockin die 13 is upset and thickened as shown in FIG. 7, which occursbecause as the die moves backward it also moves away from the centerplate, due to the sloping wall 12 of the die holder. As soon as thisupsetting operation is completed, the ram is retracted and the two diesare returned by the air pressure in their bores 23 to their frontpositions shown in FIG. 6.

The second die holder 2 then is retracted by toggle link 9, whichseparates the holder from center plate 4 and permits the latter to bepushed away from the other die holder by plungers 34. This permits theupset stock to easily be removed from the first die, turned over andimmediately placed in the channel of the other die. The dies are thenclosed and ram 41 is moved forward again to push both dies back in theirholders. This time the previously upset portion of the stock will beupset further as shown in FIG. 8, because die channel 17 is deeper thanchannel 14. Both upsetting operations are performed on the stock duringa single heat because the transfer from one die to the other can be madeso quickly. In continuous operation of this apparatus, at the same timethat an upset workpiece is placed in the second die a new workpiece 18awill be placed in the first die as also shown in FIG. 8, so that whenthe ram pushes the dies back in the die holders both dies will operateon workpieces at the same time. Accordingly, every time the dies areopened a workpiece with a fully upset end can be removed and a newworkpiece loaded into the dies. This further increases the productivityof the apparatus.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, 1 have explained theprinciple of my invention and have illustrated and described what I nowconsider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have itunderstood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated anddescribed.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for upsetting an end portion of wide thin stock, comprisinga plate having front and rear ends, a die holder normally engaging eachside of the plate provided with a recess facing the plate and extendinglengthwise thereof, the wall of the recess opposite the plate slopingoutwardly away from the plate from front to back, a die slidably mountedin each recess for movement lengthwise thereof and having a sliding faceengaging the sloping wall of the recess and having an opposite faceprovided with a channel open at its rear end for receiving said stock,said dies normally being located at the front ends of the recesses inengagement with said plate, one of said channels having less depth thanthe other and extending farther forward, means for pushing the die withthe shallower channel rearwardly in its die holder to upset the stocktherein, means for moving the die holders and plate apart to permittransferring the upset stock from the shallower channel to said otherchannel, and means for pushing the die with the deeper channelrearwardly in its die holder after the die holders and plate have beenmoved back together again, whereby to further upset the stock to make itthicker.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said pushing means push bothdies simultaneously.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said moving means includemeans for retracting one of the die holders, and means for pushing saidplate away from the other die holder a distance less than said one dieholder is retracted.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, in which said plate pushing meansinclude plungers carried by said other die holder and engaging theadjoining side of the plate, and means for delivering air under pressureto the plungers to cause them to force the plate toward the retractingdie holder.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3, including studs mounted in said otherdie holder and extending slidably through said plate, and heads on thestuds normally spaced from the plate to limit movement of the plate awayfrom said other die holder.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said pushing means push bothdies simultaneously and said moving means include means for retractingone of the die holders, plungers carried by the other die holder andengaging the adjoining side of said plate, and means for delivering airunder pressure to the plungers to constantly press them against theplate, whereby to move it away from said other die whenever said one dieis retracted.

1. Apparatus for upsetting an end portion of wide thin stock, comprisinga plate having front and rear ends, a die holder normally engaging eachside of the plate provided with a recess facing the plate and extendinglengthwise thereof, the wall of the recess opposite the plate slopingoutwardly away from the plate from front to back, a die slidably mountedin each recess for movement lengthwise thereof and having a sliding faceengaging the sloping wall of the recess and having an opposite faceprovided with a channel open at its rear end for receiving said stock,said dies normally being located at the front ends of the recesses inengagement with said plate, one of said channels having less depth thanthe other and extending farther forward, means for pushing the die withthe shallower channel rearwardly in its die holder to upset the stocktherein, means for moving the die holders and plate apart to permittransferring the upset stock from the shallower channel to said otherchannel, and means for pushing the die with the deeper channelrearwardly in its die holder after the die holders and plate have beenmoved back together again, whereby to further upset the stock to make itthicker.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said pushing meanspush both dies simultaneously.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, inwhich said moving means include means for retracting one of the dieholders, and means for pushing said plate away from the other die holdera distance less than said one die holder is retracted.
 4. Apparatusaccording to claim 3, in which said plate pushing means include plungerscarried by said other die holder and engaging the adjoining side of theplate, and means for delivering air under pressure to the plungers tocause them to force the plate toward the retracting die holder. 5.Apparatus according to claim 3, including studs mounted in said otherdie holder and extending slidably through said plate, and heads on thestuds normally spaced from the plate to limit movement of the plate awayfrom said other die holder.
 6. ApparatUs according to claim 1, in whichsaid pushing means push both dies simultaneously and said moving meansinclude means for retracting one of the die holders, plungers carried bythe other die holder and engaging the adjoining side of said plate, andmeans for delivering air under pressure to the plungers to constantlypress them against the plate, whereby to move it away from said otherdie whenever said one die is retracted.